12 volt power supplied

I am trying to take a guess at what to do with batteries.

Gertha 4 is ariving with 1 engine and 1 house, does anyone know how they are split ?

I know the fridge is large, anyone know how many amps ?

At this point in time I have found that Hanse supply a 60 amp alternator and Yanmar offer a 80 amp option, there is no upgrade option, so may spec an 80 and keep 60 as spare.

There are loads of people offering smart regulators and fancy alternator improvments does anyone know which is best.

I am thinking of having the mast head anchor changed to tri-colour LED at launch, will then mount seperate anchor at latter date and use tri-colour for night sailing with pullpit/pushpit as back up and moter sail, has any one else looked at this?

Appologies at my change of name, between me and my computer I am either Ger4 or Gertha (soon to be 4)

Simon

On power battery and charging requirements - it all depends on your usage pattern.

You can ignore the engine battery.  It will recharge from the engine soon after it does it's only job - starting the engine.

The house battery of 100AH gives you 50AH to play with.  A battery should not be discharged more than 50% normally.

50AH isn't a huge amount. Good idea to fit low power lights etc.  Save when you can.  You also aren't going to be able to run the fridge for long (say 5amps or 10 hours if that is all you are using).  However it is plenty for nav lights and instruments for most usage.  You might not need to run the fridge when away from the marina.  Keep it closed and it will stay cold.  Shove in a bag of ice if it gets hot.

However - the critical thing is how often and how you charge the battery.  If you go into a marina every night and put on shore power - that will fully recharge you.  Your current setup is fine.

If you wish to stay away from marinas for long then you will be using the engine to recharge the battery.  The standard 60A alternator is fine for your batteries.  A smart regulator is a good idea since "dumb" regulators don't fully charge the battery as quickly.  If you are relying on engine to recharge frequently then the smart alternator will ensure you get the full 50AH.  If engine charging is only for a few nights away in a summer cruise then don't bother - most of the time you will charge from shore power which will ensure fully topped-up batteries.

Upgrading to alternator is only needed with bigger battery banks.  A bigger alternator also takes out more of the horse powers from the engine and reduces thrust for cruising.  Only do it if needed.

If you need more power then think about solar or wind generators.  There is nor "correct" answer.  It all depends on how much power you use and where and how often you recharge.

Hope this helps.

Simon

If you order the anchor windlass you get another 110 amp battery. Ditto if you order the electric haliyard winch.

My prior boat, a Pearson 34, had a 4 battery bank (1 starter, 3 house).  Having the extra power permitted us to run the fridge continuously while cruising and to never about loss of power.  My new Hanse 370 is set up the same way.  It's a simple upgrade that has no downside.

Hi Simon,

If you do want more charge suggest you try Yanmar UK again.  We secured an upgrade from 60 to 80 on our 461 and it cost £100.

We also added a Stirling 'smart' regulator and whilst I'm not the expert - our electrician says it has really reduced our charge time to 1/3rd what it was prior.  Cost also around £110 and we sourced ours from Datayacht in Lymington.

Re LED nav lamps.  The current lamps available are very limited and hence relatively expensive.  Next year more manufacturers will have secured CE approval so costs are certain to fall.  In the interim we've purchased a couple of LED tower globes (each has 15 individual LEDS facing up and outward) which only cost £13 each.  One for anchor lamp, one for tricolour.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

JOHN